Anti-Downloading Law Hits Japan, Up To 2 Years in Prison From Today

Anti-Downloading Law Hits Japan, Up To 2 Years in Prison From Today






A few hours ago Japan introduced new anti-piracy legislation
designed to clamp down on illegal file-sharing. The regime is one of the
most draconian in the world. In most countries users are only targeted
when they upload copyright-infringing material to other Internet users,
but the new law’s wording means that simply downloading unauthorized
material could result in a jail sentence.

According
to the Recording Industry Association of Japan and their IFPI
affiliates, the Japanese music industry is in trouble. Unauthorized
downloads eclipse those from official source by 10 to 1, and the market
for downloads shrank by 16% last year.

This decline needs to combated, they insist.

After intensive lobbying by the music industry, in June this year
Japan approved an amendment to its Copyright Law that would see
downloaders of unauthorized music face stiff criminal penalties in
addition to the civil remedies already in place.

The wording here is important. While in some countries downloading
copyrighted media without permission is already illegal, it is usually
the uploaders (distributors) of content that are targeted in so-called
“3 strikes” style campaigns.

While Japan already has the legislative muscle to hit uploaders with
up to 10 years in prison and a 10 million yen ($128,300) fine, this new
legislation makes criminals of mere downloaders.

From today, knowingly downloading copyright infringing material can
result in a two-year jail sentence or a fine of 2 million yen ($25,680).
But there could be complications.

Tracking uploaders of infringing material is a fairly simple affair,
with rightsholders connecting to file-sharers making available illicit
content and logging evidence. However, proving that someone has
downloaded content illegally presents a whole new set of issues.

On BitTorrent, for example, rightsholders would have to be the ones
actually sending the infringing material to a file-sharer in order to
know that he or she is downloading it. This scenario could cause
complications, since rightholders already have permission to upload
their own content, making the source a legal one.

But for the implications for ‘downloaders’ could be even more
widespread. The generally tech-savvy BitTorrent user understands the
potential for being targeted for sharing, but by making mere downloading
a criminal offense it is now feared that those who simply view an
infringing YouTube video could also be subjected to sanctions.

For some rightsholders though, even this kind of draconian regime isn’t enough. As reported
in June, music rights groups including the Recording Industry
Association of Japan say they have developed a system capable of
automatically detecting unauthorized music uploads before they even hit
the Internet.

But to do that they need to be able to spy on Internet users’
connections and compare data being transferred with digital fingerprints
held in an external database. That can only be achieved with the
assistance of Internet service providers who would be asked to integrate
the system deeply into their networks.




Source:-
http://torrentfreak.com/anti-downloading-law-hits-japan-up-to-2-years-in-prison-from-today-121001/